ABB Wins $36 Million Texas HVDC Order to Boost Power Exchange with Mexico

ABB has won an order worth around $36 million from Sharyland Utilities L.P. to supply and install a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station in Texas, USA.

The 150-MW back-to-back HVDC converter station will be built in Mission, Texas, where an identical installation was delivered by ABB in 2007. The two stations, part of the Railroad DC Tie Expansion project, will work in parallel to provide a transmission capacity of up to 300 MW. This will increase the power transfer capacity between Texas and Mexico and secure power supply.

“Availability and security of power supplies is key to economic growth and HVDC is a proven technology when it comes to efficient and reliable transmission of electricity,” said Brice Koch, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. “We are delighted to work with Sharyland Utilities once again on this important interconnection to improve power exchange capability and help enhance the reliability of the grid.”

ABB will design, engineer, supply and install the converter station including high-voltage equipment such as power transformers and thyristor valves. The station is scheduled to go into operation in 2014.

“The expansion of our HVDC facility from 150 MW to 300 MW is a significant project for us, and we are pleased to partner with ABB once again,” said Mark Caskey, Senior Vice President of Sharyland Utilities. “Based upon our experience with ABB during the initial phase of the project in 2007, we believe their technical strength and HVDC knowledge made this an easy decision.”

Southwire Energy Division’s new line of Intelligent Grid solutions combine innovations in monitoring and analytics to provide wide area awareness of grid assets. Solutions include line and substation monitoring, which collects, communicates and processes data from multiple sensors to improve reliability, capacity and generation dispatch....More

Project Spotlight: AMFC

I am a big believer in the saying “Trust and Verify,” so when Elster President Mark Fromuller told me that Advanced Meter Fort Collins (AMFC) was the real deal, I got on the phone with Ft. Collins Project Manager Dennis Sumner and headed over to Colorado...More

Through the Advanced Meter Fort Collins project, Fort Collins Utilities is upgrading mechanical electric and water meters in homes, schools and businesses throughout the community with electronic devices that will enable two-way digital communication....More